Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to review the (a) proportionality and (b) cost-effectiveness of the Environment Agency’s (i) licensing and (ii) inspection processes for small-scale community energy providers.

The Government makes full use of the comprehensive and wide ranging environmental regulatory framework in England. Defra and the Environment Agency have contributed to HMT’s Regulatory Action Plan and other recent reviews into regulatory effectiveness, including the review led by Dan Corry.

We remain committed to upholding high environmental standards to protect our natural environment and local communities when supporting new infrastructure and development.